....a trim guy with huge low slung calves and feet like a hobbit wont have as much trouble...myself on the other hand, have puny little high calves like a Kenyan marathon runner... without the weight assistance to overpower the board, i'm finding out just how weak my lower legs are....(off for a soft sand run followed by calf raises with the wife on my shoulders..!)..

While calf raises will work it might seem like hard work. In my first year of cycling and triathlon I gained 5kg or so...all on the legs. Thighs pumped up as well as calves, also never used to have an arse either. Now in my first year off I've gained a further 5kg but all on the gut! Anyway, a mountain bike can be a lot of fun on those crap surf days and will strengthen the legs. Road cycling is probably going to be even more effective but nowhere near as much fun (unless you are good enough to inflict pain on others)...just a thought.

For taller surfers building stronger and heavier legs will lower your centre of gravity and help a bit with stability. Not something everyone needs to do but it won't hurt if you are that way inclined. Leg strength helps me surf better...well when my legs are fatigued it makes a lot of difference to how hard I can turn.

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"light and nimble under foot." What does that feel/surf like?....... by light and nimble i mean you can articulate your board and also set rails without having to get your whole weight over the part of board your pushing...that would take too long on every movement if your trying to surf fast and loose like sl8ter......you should be able to move around with your feet/ankles/toes, not need whole body weight and thigh strength for even small corrections.....an example of me at the moment on the MB is with the weight drop i'm not able to take off deep and steep on my forehand very well.... my rear toes dont seem to have the strength to immediately dig my rail in and drive...i have to get up, stick my toes over the rail and lean into it....by this time i should already be over on my heels into the next pump...this usually means missing the section, getting through too late to belt it or just wiping out like a kook....i even had trouble doing this on my HF yesterday..(went out light, empty stomach and only wearing budgie smugglers for further lightness..!!)... also noticed too much resistance pushing back under my front foot/nose of board...thats like having the hand-brake on..!!....now, it's not just a weight issue....a trim guy with huge low slung calves and feet like a hobbit wont have as much trouble...myself on the other hand, have puny little high calves like a Kenyan marathon runner... without the weight assistance to overpower the board, i'm finding out just how weak my lower legs are....(off for a soft sand run followed by calf raises with the wife on my shoulders..!).. waffled a lot there trying to illustrate the "feel", and the causes.....hope it came accross okay.... hard to pinpoint the volume you need in different boards at your weight...not much experience down that end of the scales..!!.. also your height/leverage and as we now understand, your leg strength..... maybe the bantam weights on the forum can "weigh" in here........see what i did there.... "weigh" in... i made a funny...!!!!

I have always been one of the more muscle bound surfers in the line up. When I'm out of shape I still look like I'm in better shape than about 95 percent of men in there 30s or 20s for that matter. One of the biggest things I noticed though about turning 37 is that strength is relative. So even if I look strong I still need to train my whole body to surf well. This brings me to legs. I played soccer in college and have always had strong legs. I didn't surf to much this last year because of a lack of swell and an injury. I started doing a progressive body weight training program that builds gymnastics type of strength. One of the biggest things I have noticed is eve being 5 pounds heavier than I used to be the extra muscle, especially in my legs, has made me able to generate speed much faster. I bottom turn better, rail to rail better. It's nuts. I was worried the extra muscle would slow me down or make me surf poorly but strong legs is a must. I generate so much more speed so much faster now. I think I'm just quicker and I get lower naturally because my body is ready for it. So many surfers including pros focus on endurance but I think most surfers could really bennifit from 5 pounds of extra muscle. When you can do 10 one legged squats and 20 hanging leg raises you will generate more power in your surfing and you won't get kook rib after a long period of No surfing.